


Tangents

by somedaysomewhere



Category: X1 (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternative Universe - Outer Space, Ambiguous Relationship, Angst, But we all agree that Seungwoo AND Seungyoun are otherworldly, Everything about this is ambiguous tbh, M/M, Surreal, This will hurt a bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-11-28 19:56:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20972183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somedaysomewhere/pseuds/somedaysomewhere
Summary: A lot can happen in 24 hours. Seungyoun finds out just how much.





	Tangents

**Author's Note:**

> I’m working on Russian Roulette’s sequel! In the meantime, here’s another story. It’s slightly inspired by Cowboy Bebop (space cowboys, anyone?). Enjoy :)

AT 10:00 on a Tuesday evening, Seungyoun meets a boy who is out of this world. Blonde hair, dashing suit, megawatt smile—he is instantly smitten. The boy turns to his direction and Seungyoun quickly shifts his eyes, fervently hoping that he wasn’t caught staring (he knew he was).

The boy extends his hand. He introduces himself as someone from outer space. Casually too, like he's just from Seoul or New York. Outer space. _Right._ Seungyoun tries not to laugh. This has to be the most absurd pick-up line he has ever heard. And yet, because he can’t let go once his interest is piqued, he proceeds to ask questions.

“Outer Space, yeah? So what do you do there? Do you work for NASA?”

“Oh, I’m a bounty hunter.”

This time, the laughter comes out before Seungyoun can hold it in. This day couldn’t be any weirder. Fortunately, the boy doesn’t look offended. In fact, he is smiling softly, like he is looking at something endearing.

Seungyoun then decides to stay. Maybe it’s because he feels more alone than usual, or because he hasn’t laughed like that for a long time, or okay, maybe it’s also because the boy is so damn handsome, but he knows he can’t leave. He won’t be able to.

It's minutes later when the boy shows his pistol and scar-littered arms that Seungyoun realizes he wasn’t lying.

* * *

Seungyoun learns that the boy’s name is Seungwoo.

He also learns what a bounty hunter is. Basically, Seungwoo hunts criminals all over space and brings them in alive in exchange for money. His current tally is 254 criminals.

The first thing that comes to Seungyoun’s mind then is, _dang, he must be rich._

_So it’s quite similar to being a policeman I suppose, _is the second.

And the last but the most resounding is, _I don’t understand shit._

Seungwoo goes on about the adrenaline rush his job brings and how he is getting tired of it. He's on Earth to gallivant a little. It's in this vein that he asks for Seungyoun’s company in the next twenty-four hours.

“I have a day to spare. Twenty-four hours and then I’ll have to come back. Will you show me around?”

Seungyoun’s brain must have short-circuited earlier because the next thing he knows, he is saying yes.

* * *

The last of the Negroni slides down Seungyoun’s throat. Everything is fuzzy now and he gives up on mentally calculating the time they have left after three unsuccessful attempts. Instead, he takes in the bar and commits it to memory: an old elevator and a password, dark wood and dim lights, jazz music and glass displays.

Having a conversation with someone from outer space is up there on the list of the strangest things a person could do. As always though, Seungyoun can chalk it up to experience, tell it to his friends and let them say he is crazy. It won’t be the uncanniest of his adventures, anyway.

_Besides, it’s too weird to even consider as truth._

Until now, he believes that he is somehow being tricked. But when Seungwoo looks at him, smiles at him, speaks to him gently and earnestly, he finds that he doesn’t mind.

* * *

It’s 2:30 AM.

Seungwoo is magical, even under the harsh fluorescent lights of a fast food restaurant. Now, his sharp jawline and fair, fair skin are visible in all their glory. _Otherworldly_. There is no other word to describe him.

On the television is a drama about aliens. Every detail of the show is shot down (“There are no burgers in space!”, “Aliens don’t look like that!”, “The setting is too bright!”) and they end up laughing so much that they run out of breath.

A particular line catches Seungwoo’s attention. _Like two ships passing in the night, _he repeats after the lead actor. He doesn’t understand it, and Seungyoun explains that sometimes people only meet to separate after.

”They never see each other again?”

”No. They continue on their own ways.”

”But why would they do that?”

Seungwoo is still confused (as with most sayings), and so they kill time by dissecting and laughing at idioms.

Happiness is something that’s elusive for Seungyoun, so when it comes, he does not recognize it at first. But the telltale signs are there: his jaw is hurting from smiling so much, his body feels light, and most noticeably, his heart is full. Like this, the seconds turn into minutes and the world falls asleep.

* * *

Spend twelve hours with a person and you will know a lot about them. In Seungyoun’s case, he is now sure of five things:

1\. Seungwoo cherishes routines. He explains that it's his way to compensate for the lack of clocks in other planets. Light signals him to wake up and eat and go out. Darkness reminds him to lie down and sleep.

2\. Seungwoo is friendly, albeit a bit withdrawn at first. The morning finds them searching for breakfast in a wet market. And while he smiles even to strangers, he doesn’t speak first. Still, the vendors easily warm up to him and they offer him meat. (He loves grilled meat.)

3\. Seungwoo likes talking. Once he becomes comfortable, he will talk about anything and everything. Even how to properly fire guns, which is information Seungyoun doesn’t know what to do with, _but it’s good to know maybe?_

4\. Seungwoo is kind. It’s in the way he puts his jacket over Seungyoun’s shoulders when it’s cold. It’s in the way he lets Seungyoun choose first and takes whatever is left behind. It’s in the way he listens and encourages and advises. It’s in the little things he does when he thinks no one is looking.

5\. Seungwoo is easy to be with. Whoever he will love in the future is a very lucky person.

* * *

They are seated on the steps of a building painted in violet and blue. The sunset makes everything golden and beautiful, and Seungyoun wishes he can preserve this moment forever.

Seungwoo is different in the sun. He is softer, warmer and more human.

And when Seungwoo holds his hand as he tells a story about yet another one of his pursuits, Seungyoun finally comprehends:

what it's like to adore someone so much that you remember and forget everything around him at the same time,

what it's like to adore someone so much that you want to remember and forget him at the same time.

Seungyoun has always been reckless. He is not new to impulses and consequences. But this?

This will break his heart.

* * *

When they arrive in front of the bar where they first met, it is then that Seungyoun knows it’s time to part.

Something in him twists, and unlike joy, he recognizes it immediately. He is familiar with loneliness: its never-ending branches and sharp edges. He encounters it far too often to forget how it feels.

Seungwoo is from space, and the planets and the stars will always call out to him. The gravity on Earth will never feel right—it is heavy and like shackles on his feet.

Seungyoun understands, of course.

_See you,_ he begins. There is more to say—_please stay, twenty-four hours is nowhere near enough, everything was different with you, I want to love you with every bit of what I have_—but what good would it do? They are different, no matter what he has to say about it. Earth is nothing like outer space. Seungyoun knows, understands, and yet the weight it brings is not diminished in the slightest. 

_See you, _heends. He closes his eyes. Something warm and soft touches his lips, and then it's gone. When he opens his eyes again, there is nothing but empty space.

* * *

Time passes, no matter what Seungyoun has to say about it.

The sun has long set, the bar is quiet. On the counter is Seungwoo’s favorite cocktail, waiting for him. Like this, the days turn into months and the months turn into a year. 

He does not see him again.


End file.
